Footwear



W. HESS FOOTWEAR Filed June 25, 1942 June 20, 1944.

Patented June 20, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF'lCE FOOTWEAR Willy Hess, New York, N. Y.

Application June 25, 1942,. Serial No. 448,426

1 Claim.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the production of shoes, slippers or sandals, and deals basically with the idea. of providing foot covering in accordance with the individual taste of the wearer. It is possible through the exercise of the teachings herein disclosed to make up the shoe or sandal Without the need of any special tools or lasts.

The main object of the invention is to furnish the public with a suitably prepared sole, which may be of leather, rubber, wood, composition materials etc., and with a number of plies of suitably-cut upper-forming strip material which may be applied to the sole in accordance with the dress desire of the wearer.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a shoe structure which may be assembled to meet the wearers desire in accordance to size and comfort.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a means on the sole whereby the upper-forming body may be easily and readily applied or removed therefrom to meet various demands.

A still further object of the invention lies in the provision of a longitudinally extending foot enclosing strap which is attached at its forward edges to the strap that overlies the forward part of the foot, said strap being free to fully encircle the heel portion of the footand is freely slidable through oppositely disposed side loops.

These and other objects will readily present themselves to those skilled in this particular art and it is to be understood that certain variations and changes may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention herein disclosed. In the attached drawing, which is used merely as illustration of the application of the invention, similar letters of reference indicate like partsr throughout the several views wherein Fig. l is a side elevation of the invention as applied to a flat sole and having a wedge type of heel. The type of sole or heel is irrelevant, as the invention can be applied to any type of sole.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View with the upper portion of the ribbons or strips removed and a certain section of the sock lining broken away to better illustrate the upper surface of the sole.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken online 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of a sole showing a modification of the ribbon or strip securing means and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on- (Cl. 36-1L5) which is inserted between the sole portions Il] and II. l

In Fig. 2 there is showna looped stitching I3 that extends aroundthe entire edge portion of the midsole I0. Through these loops I3 the ends of the ribbon strips are passedvand as shown, the forward ribbon strip I4 has its ends inserted through loops I3 on opposite sides of'the sole with the ribbon ends stitched together as at I5 to prevent accidental withdrawal. Side loops IE-I 6 of ribbon strips are fastened around stitch loops I3 just forward of the heel portion of the sale. Attached at its forward ends to the edges of the forward ribbon strip I4, and passing through the side loops l--I and around the heel portion of the sole is a wide flat strip I'I.

vThis strip II is adapted to slightly overlap the opposite side of the instep and extend along the side of the foot and engage the heel of the wearer.

yA sock lining I8 may be used to add comfort to the foot if desired.

If desired the edge of the midsole III may be provided with a welt I9 which merely adds a iinish to the shoe or sandal but does not in any way enterinto the invention stated herein.

In Figs. 4 and 5 there is illustrated a modified form of the invention and as shown the midsole I0 is provided with a multiplicity of spring clamps v2l), the outer edges of which are serrated or toothed as at 2|, so as to more effectively grip the inserted ends of the ribbon-strips when the nails or brads 22-22 are driven into the spring clamps 20.

In applying the principles advanced in this invention the manufacturer will simply produce the sole portion of the shoe, slipper or sandal with the stitched loops or metal fasteners and the purchaser will then add to this sole the ribbon strips in accordance with' his individual taste. This upper formation or assembly may be easily and readily changed without the use of any special tools or lasts. It may also be assembled in various sizes so as to fulfill the individual wishes of the purchaser.

I claim:

A toeless sandal consisting of a sole provided with a series of openings adjacent its peripherial portion, a pliable member threaded through the openings and thereby constituting a series of elongated holding loops, a wide strip of material threaded through selected holding loops on opposite sides of the sole and having the ends of the strip material secured together to form a foot engaging loop'over the forward portion of the sole, side loops secured to the mid-section of the sole on opposite sides theref, and a longitudinally extending wide strip secured to the sides of the foot loop and passing through the side loops and extending around the rear portion of the sole to form a heel engaging strip.

WILLY HESS. 

